Pyrenees holiday recommendations – biking/walking/climbing?

Looking for somewhere to go next summer – just wondering if anyone can recommend anywhere in the pyrenees or good places to stay? Considering this or the Alps really.

Would like to do some biking but will be with the missus so nothing too extreme and also needs to be somewhere with good walking/climbing.

Any general advice on areas? Is food etc cheaper than in the Alps generally?

Ta.

Pyrenees are fantastic – Id pick them over the Alps any day.

I have no knowledge of climbing but have had a good time at Luchon with AQR bvoth on and off road biking.

I also regularly stay on the french side in the Aude foothills where I ride a fair bit on the local VTT network.
http://www.aude-en-pyrenees.fr/vtt/telechargement/carte_vtt_aude_pyrenees.pdf

There's a useful book by Cicerone called "Trekking in the Pyrenees".
(actually its now called this:)
http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/470/title/walks-and-climbs-in-the-pyrenees
I personally prefer the French side because Im more comfortable with the french language and lifestyle than the Spanish.

Thanks for that – I went to the pyrenees as a child and remember it being lovely but that was a while ago. I seem to remember it being a bit less severe/prettier and a bit less developed than the alps mostly, but it was a long time ago.

Was wondering about the French vs Spanish bit – me and the gf both have very bad French and she has ok Spanish.

That Cicerone guide looks good, ta.

How come I haven't been spammed by any holiday companies yet – come on people! 🙂

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/where-to-go-in-france-or-spain-for-more-xc-orientated-trails

try that link as a starter

recommend Luchon and aqr, tremendous area and the top class riding
loved prades area fab to be honest the best for me
basque region okay but new guiding company there
Foix and ax le thermes recommended by friends

That's handy, thanks. White Room looks pretty sweet as well.

Luchon is great. There is good biking with a wide range of trails from Gnarley to Fireroad and a massive lift that gives you a lot of height. The walking is excellent, too. The walk up to Lac d'Oo is beutiful. From the top you can walk back to Luchon if you have 7 hours spare. Real middle of nowhere stuff. The rafting is great too. Not sure about climbing but its all pretty pointy. Everyone recommends AQR so I presume they are good but it is easy to find your own way, too

grumm, are you looking for an organised holiday or doing it yourself? I run BasqueMTB which is just in the Spanish end of the Pyrenees, right on the border with France. There's a bit of climbing here but if that's the main focus of your holiday then there's better places to base yourself. There's some areas on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees east of Pamplona that are world famous for climbing if that's your main thing and the biking's OK but I only know a few routes there. That's on the Spanish side if the language is important. I can point you in the direction if you want?

The climbing here is quite spread out if you know what I mean and definitely not of the class of the area's above. Unless you climb F9a and fancy a trip to the Baltzola caves which are world class apparently!!

The biking here is fantastic but unless you have local knowledge you just don't have a chance of finding the good trails. It's not marked out and the maps are really really funny but bear no resemblance to the ground! The walking here is also great and there are a marked trails that you can do yourself. If I can be of any help mail me, it's in the profile.

We did 5 days in Luchon as part of a road trip and we loved it, walking/biking or drinking Kronenbourg Blanc, tres superb.

For downhill riding with routes for all abilitys with lift access.

Or get in touch with AQR for some guiding.

The GR route is fantastic walkng. If you end up heading that way then drop me an email and i'll give you more info.

Consider Prades near Perpignon. The VTT club in Prades were brilliant. Two French guys and a Dutchman took me riding for a couple of days. No chair lifts, you have to climb everything, but the rewards are great singletrack descents, good food and lifelong biking pals.

Nothing to do with doug above, but from our experience it is true that it is one area where local knowledge is a must, Luchon and Prades we had great riding using teh map but around the basque counrty much harder.

thanks for that Doug – YGM

Luchon is sounding pretty appealing too.

We went here for climbing predominantly, but they say there's plenty MTBing about;

http://www.chezarran.com

Very quiet area, but very nice. Also very hot and that was 'cooling down' in September…

Cheers. I should probably point out that any climbing needs to be really **** easy 😉

I have lead a few VDiffs/Severes in the Lakes but not for a while. Very easy sport climbing would be the thing if it exists.

Probably more into some scrambles/mountaineering type stuff personally, but the missus is keen on climbing.

http://www.altitudeadventure.com

Went here this year and going again next year hopefully. Really freindly, knowledgeable guys, fantastic food and awesome riding. Couldn't recommend highly enough.

grumm – us in the Alps, obviously! 😀

In the pyrenees, Ian at Altitude Adventures (as above) is a mate. By the summer he'll be a full IML and he's also a climber so should be able to sort out just what you need.

There's some very good climbing close to us as well. I'm also (nearly) an IML and I'm a (crap!) climber so can point you in the right direction.

I can recommend Basque MTB. Great trails, excellent guiding, lovely food and tip top accommodation.

Have a look on the front page as there is a link to pictures from the article in the current issue of the mag. Highly recommended.

Cheers

Sanny

Thanks – can't seem to see it on the front page, do you have a link? Really like the look of the basque mtb pics I have seen.

I recommend Marmot Tours – James is a great guide

the area around where altitude adventure is based (Font Romeau, Les Angles) is wicked for biking and walking. Much less expensive and less crowded than the alps.

There are some crags in the mountains above les angles and there is targasonne very close for bouldering. Vingrau and Tautavel are about 1.5 hrs away.

The Pyrenees are an awesome place, particularly out of the main season, lot less domesticated than, say, the Alps. The French and Spanish sides are very different, the latter is very arid and virtually dead in the summer (to the point of struggling to find shops open), the French side is lot lusher. Both looked like some great MTBing could be had, though I am not sure what the rules about bikes are (I have a vague recollection that MTBs might not be allowed in the Parc). Also, camping is fairly limited, low down in the valleys (lot of the books and websites refer to a campsite at Bious Oumette — this place has been demolished years back, which makes for a great surprise when you arrive past midnight 🙂 )

If you do decide to do some climbing, whatever you do, under no circumstances rely on the D. L. Walker book Rock Climbs in the Pyrenees, in my experience it describes Pyrenees from some other planet. On the other hand, if you want to set out on a mystery hunt after mythical routes and climbing locations that might have once existed, that's the guide to go for; you have been warned (though, admittedly, I am aware of no other English climbing guidebook for the area, which is a great shame.)

Some pictures from a trip couple of years back are here[/url].

the area around where altitude adventure is based (Font Romeau, Les Angles) is wicked for biking and walking. Much less expensive and less crowded than the alps.

Climibing is good too, Font Romeu is the mountain training base for the French Commando's and one of their PTI's works for Altitude Adventure

Check out the Ax les Thermes ski resort for summer down hill mt biking, it's fantastic. I am a down hill beginner but there are some black trails as well as easier stuff. There are lots of graded VTT trails and a bike park too. We live here and are working our way through the trails see http://www.chezarran.com. It's a beautiful area for climbing too and there are many trails which are not severe down hill! If you want to hire a bike, we only have basic Mt bikes but have friends with hi spec options. Info here: http://www.ax-ski.com/ete/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=108&Itemid=239 Grande Traversée Ariège-Pyrénées à VTT: Ax-les-Thermes – Lacave (223km)http://www.vttfrance.com/dpt.php?dpt=09, http://www.sport09.com/index.php?idpage=sp&idsport=sp26
Chioula
A special VTT 'domaine' of over 5,000 acres, Chioula is a Winter cross country skiing resort which has over 160km of marked routes also graded in the same way as ski slopes. Chioula has two green routes, four blue, three red and one black, and there are also childrens activites and a restaurant available during the Summer.

Ax les Thermes
The VTT area at Ax les Thermes uses the Winter downhill ski slopes as mountain biking courses during the Summer. This location has a huge advantage in that the Winter ski lifts can be used to get to the top of the mountain, making the whole experience much more enjoyable! There are 8 downhill routes and 7 circular tours at Ax.

Vicdessos
Vicdessos has a small specialist VTT centre and several special marked trails which can be used by groups or individuals. There is also a short discovery tour which takes you through an abandoned Iron ore mine dating from the 19th century. The circuit is 10km and also passes through some superb valley scenery.

Plateau Beille
The plateau Beille is at an altitude of 1800m and is another Winter cross country skiiing course with many marked routes primarily on the flat surface of the plateau. The tours have fantastic views of the Pyrenean mountain range and the valleys of the Ariege, and there is a restaurant at the car park centre which is open during the Summer months.

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I spent six weeks walking the high route in the pyrenees a few years ago and it was great. If you want to be in the big mountains then the French side is much better. As someone said above, the Spanish side is very arid because it's in the rain shadow so a lot less going on. If you are happy with the smaller hills then both sides of the border the Basque country is pretty similar. I really liked Luchon – not too touristy considering it's a resort town and excellent access to the mountains as explained above.

Hey thanks everyone – didn't realise this was still going for some reason. Thanks Anne A – will check them out.

Great pics tf – how was the climb on Pic du Midi d'Oussau? What grade does it go at?

Would love to do some easy mountaineering routes over there but I think an F grade one might be good for starters – I've barely climbed in the last year but used to be able to lead VDiff reasonably confidently, and done a bit of scrambling in the Lakes, Cuillin and Glencoe etc. Never done a fairly big peak abroad that required any actual climbing though.

Camped in around Veilha , Spain lovely valley to visit also Cauterets, France is a nice base. Benasque is also worth visiting and is home of Barrabes if you like your gear